Mendocino's Project Sanctuary working to raise awareness of sexual assaults

For over two decades, Project Sanctuary has served thousands of rape victims throughout Mendocino County, but according to Executive Director Dina Polkinghorne, the term "rape culture" has been permeating conversations more than ever before.

"Between factually inaccurate comments made by politicians in the last election cycle, to the Steubenville rape trial in Ohio this spring, to the horrifying sexual assault fatality reported from India this winter, rape culture' is on the minds of a lot of people lately and they're talking about it," Polkinghorne said. "That's a good thing. These are conversations that need to happen and now is the perfect time since April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month."

Rape culture is a term used to describe a culture in which prevalent attitudes excuse, tolerate or even condone rape. Examples of behaviors commonly associated with rape culture include victim blaming, sexual objectification and trivializing rape.

"The Steubenville rape trial, where two male high school students repeatedly assaulted a girl from a neighboring school over the course of several hours, brought out all these issues," Polkinghorne said. "The victim was blamed because she was drunk. The victim was objectified in recordings of her assault filmed that night. The assault charges were mocked in social media and in commentaries. Those types of attitudes and behaviors all contribute to rape culture and as rape crisis advocates we often find ourselves wondering if this is 2013 or 1813. It is discouraging to see that we haven't evolved more as a culture at this point when it comes to sexual assault."

According to the Department of Justice, in the United States alone, one in five women and one in 71 men have been raped in their lifetimes.

Lynn Rosenthal, White House adviser on violence against women, recently published a blog about those statistics where she stated, "The vast majority of these assaults occur when the victims are under the age of 25, and those under the age of 18 are at the greatest risk. These numbers are real, but they don't tell the whole story. They don't tell of the broken trust when the attacker is a friend, a trusted colleague or a family member. They don't tell of the suicidal feelings, the depression, or of the PTSD. And, they don't tell of the courage survivors demonstrate when they work every day to put their lives back together."

Polkinghorne is quick to point out that there have been improvements made in how systems are dealing with sexual assault. "Last year the Department of Justice updated an antiquated FBI definition of rape used to collect crime statistics. In addition, communities across the country are getting the much-needed training to address the backlog of evidence rape kits, and the federal government's Office of Victims of Crime is supporting the development of a telemedicine center that will help bring sexual assault forensic exams to victims in rural and isolated communities similar to Mendocino County," she said.

To bring about more community awareness, Project Sanctuary is hosting three Sexual Assault Awareness Month events in April.

On Wednesday April 24th, "Denim Day" invites people to wear denim and a "Why Denim?" button as a protest against sexual assault.

Denim Day began in 1999 after an Italian Supreme Court overturned a rape conviction against a 45-year-old man because the 18-year-old victim was wearing jeans. The Court stated in its decision that " it is common knowledge that jeans cannot even be partly removed without the effective help of the person wearing them and it is impossible if the victim is struggling with all her might."

This judgment sparked a worldwide outcry from those who understand the realities of coercion, threats, intimidation, and violence within the acts of rape. Anyone interested in participating can pick up a "Why Denim" button at Project Sanctuary.

A screening of "The Invisible War," a 2013 Oscar-nominated documentary about the challenges facing victims of sexual assault in the military, will be shown at the Saturday Afternoon Club in Ukiah at 7 p.m. April 26. A $5 donation is suggested.

"Walk a Mile in her Shoes - a Men's March Against Rape" will take place April 27 at 10 a.m. at Project Sanctuary's office in Ukiah. Billed as a "lighthearted way to build awareness," the walk features men of all ages who will take a short walk through downtown Ukiah in high heels to show support for survivors and to protest sexual assault.

Women and children of all ages are also invited, and participants can raise pledges in support of Project Sanctuary. Details on all three events, or about sexual assault in general and Project Sanctuary services for victims, can be found on its website at www.projectsanctuary.org.

Editor's note: Project Sanctuary, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit organization with the mission of ending domestic abuse and sexual assault in the local community. Founded in 1977, Project Sanctuary assists more than 2,000 clients annually and is supported by state and local funds and contributions from individual donors.